I found similar specs (GeForce GTX 660 Ti + i5-3570 + 8GB RAM) with good performance in ‘[Official] Hardware Performance Survey’ thread.
But that was more than 2 years ago. Is it still okay now (in 2016)?
I plan to develop for mobile VR (Gear VR, daydream)
You should not go lower on the GPU than Radeon RX470 4GB. At this level more than 8 GB (of basic) system RAM is not worth it. As for processor it is mostly a decision of good single treaded performance with Intel or multi threaded performance with AMD. My advice would be Intel if you can afford an i5, otherwise go AMD.
Not really … but I believe the 470 4G for about 199€/$ would be the smartest choice for this budget. It’s about 10% slower then the 480 and 1060, but 25% cheaper. Dont suggest the 960 or 380 anymore today - both cards will be legacy soon (actually the 960 already is)
Why would you? Using a High-End GPU would make the process a bit faster, but it is not necessary. I know people who develop with a mid-range Notebook.
Besides, if you use a Mid-Range GPU you get a much better sense of how optimized your game is - in other words how most people will see and play your game
Oh i didnt read that you develop for “mobile VR” … this makes things alot easier. Basically any low-end GPU will do since you will need to keep an eye on the performance for your target devices
I know that it may seem odd but i am running at 1440x900 and creating simple levels with maybe 900 or so pre created assets it runs them just fine at 60 fps on a 550 ti i5 2400 and 8gb ram. I will admit that it is a sidscroller template game but i have large amounts of foliage in many of them.
I’m working on a GTX 760 as well, but really looking at upgrading. Got a 1440p display so with the graphics settings turned up, it chugs a bit when I go full screen on demanding scenes. It’s definitely good enough and doesn’t have any issues even on demanding scenes when working with the normal sized viewport. Also I haven’t played with demanding things like VXGI or large scale DFAO projects because of the GPU.
A 960 is much better than a 750. Even a 950 is much better than a 750: http://amzn.to/2cRA4Ti
(I don’t think you can reach for a 1060 under $600, though, but you can try: http://amzn.to/2cRAWYd )
That being said, you can probably save some money on the motherboard: http://amzn.to/2cagsuZ
If at all possible, go for SSD instead of spinny disk. 512 GB SSD is much better than 1 TB spinny: http://amzn.to/2cztcNY
You should probably also save $20 on the CPU and get the 6500 if you’re not going for the 6600K: http://amzn.to/2cfEsiZ
Finally: You forgot a case and power supply in the cost
And a i7 would be about 40% faster in ideal multi-threaded scenarios, barely faster in single threaded scenarios.
The 750 Ti is the weakest link, a 1060 would be about 150%, which is definitely worth the extra $110 price premium if you are going for the best bang for your buck. But still a 750 Ti will run UE4 well enough to make a AAA looking game, as long as you are okay with lower FPS and aren’t hitting the vram wall.
